Best of the Rest

Some photos of additional things that I have sewn that are not costumes.
This yellow and blue ensemble was something I made for the Simplicity pattern contest. I did not win, let alone place. Boo. But the husband really likes this outfit, so I guess it was not a complete waste of time.

Justice League Valance

I found this Justice League fabric, and just could not leave the store without it! Finally, I figured out the perfect place for it, above the window in my work room.

The green curtains were given to me by my mother some years ago, I merely shortened them to the proper length for this window. The curtain rod and the hardware were in place from the previous tenants so I made this some snowy afternoon a week or two ago.

I put all the pins and other swag I collected from the New York Comic Con all over the curtains. This was a simple project. I decided the finished length that I wanted the valance to be, then added measurements for the bottom hem, the top ruffle, and the channel for the curtain rod. The width of the curtain is twice that of the window space. I just wish that there were a few more characters on the fabric, and that I had more windows in to decorate!

The Action Man

The Action Man: The Venture Brothers
Materials:
Top and Pants: charcoal poly/spandex moleskin
Turtleneck: dark grey acrylic/wool yarn
Gloves: Red Cotton/poly Interlock
Holsters, Belt and Kneepads: White spandex and Red cotton/poly Interlock
Helmet: purchased and covered with white cotton/spandex twill
Boot covers: black poly/spandex, fusible fleece, and velcro
Red lenses: purchased
Guns: purchased

My dear husband decided only a few short weeks before, that he would like to be The Action Man, for New York Comic Con. We just moved in the beginning of January, so he questioned if I would be able to finish all three outfits for the Con, taking place in early February. I just assured him that all would be finished, but he just needed to decide who he wanted to be, preferably someone simple. After unpacking his black army helmet, the decision was made.

Shadowcat

Shadowcat/Kitty Pryde: Excalibur
Materials:
Mask, gloves and underpants: poly/spandex
Blouse: poly/rayon
Sash and leggings: nylon/spandex
Boots: purchased

Originally when I considered making Shadowcat I was thinking of doing the blue and gold costume, maybe even the old 'uncanny' one with the hood, but then I caught wind of the Excalibur costume. So totally and wonderfully 80's! Love the blouse, I knew shoulder pads were a must!

The decision on which costume to make has a lot of different factors. Sometimes it's driven by a beloved childhood character, sometimes it's part of set. Sometimes it's a suggestion from someone else. Sometimes it is time and money constraints. Sometimes it's based on the materials I have at hand. Kitty Pryde was a little bit of the last two reasons.

Red Lantern

Red Lantern-inspired Jacket:
Red and Black fabric: Cotton/poly Interlock
Red and Black Rib: Cotton/Lycra
Lantern symbol: white Lycra
1 separating black zipper
3/16" Cordage









My buddy Mario, previously asked for a Sinestro-inspired jacket, now requested the another, this time the Red Lantern.

New York Comic Con 2009

Saturday: The Main Event
After battling our way out of the hotel with extremely sluggish elevators Shadowcat, and The Action Man rolled into the Javits Center just about opening. We checked our coats and floated onto the main floor in record time. As opposed to last year with the several hour line up, getting dressed while on that line and running around like lost little children. By now, we were pros. We had a lot of panels planned to see this day, so we modeled our way around the main floor while we had the time. We attended the 'how not to break into comics' panel, not so sure why I went to this one, but I guess I'm a sucker for learning random things. The panels rooms were much much larger than last year, I guess some planners learned a lesson. I was a little disappointed that we were sharing the space with the 'Travel Show', boy were those attendees confused and upset when they ventured to the wrong side of the concourse. (Picture guy in a business suit getting poked in the butt with a giant foam katana, or harassed by a Storm Trooper- no I didn't actually witness such a thing, but it would have been great) I feel like I spent the majority of Saturday in the basement on lines for panels- oh wait, that's because I did. I guess it goes with the territory, but if one wants to attend the most popular panels one must be ready to sacrifice most of their day. Which kind of sucks, but no one seems to have invented a better way yet. Eventually we ran into Mario, showing off his latest anigswes- the Red Lantern jacket he requested. I'm pleased with the way it turned out, and I think it looks great on him.

New York Comic Con 2009

Thursday and Friday:
I've always lived close to NYC, except this year. So in order to pick up our badges early on Thursday, our 5-hour journey began bright and early. It was worth it to get the badges early and just waltz in the rest of the weekend.